Austin-Based College Access Nonprofit Unveils New Name as Statewide Expansion Continues

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Sep 07, 2023, 19:41 ET

College Forward is now College Possible Texas—and on a path to serve 12,000 students by 2025 in cities and rural communities across Texas

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- College Forward, the pioneering college access and success nonprofit that has for 20 years helped Central Texas high school and college students chart pathways to and through higher education, today unveiled its new name, College Possible Texas, marking its formal expansion statewide and its full integration into the College Possible organization. The announcement comes two years after the organization merged with College Possible, one of the largest and most respected college access and success organizations in the nation, and marks the next step in the organization's broadening its reach and impact to continue serving students on a national scale.

"Students throughout Texas face an ever-growing array of challenges that stand in the path of college access and completion," said Austin Buchan, SVP of tech innovation and strategic growth and former CEO of College Forward. "This milestone signals a doubling down of our effort to expand evidence-based programming and support to the students who need it most,"

Since its inception, the Texas nonprofit has grown from serving an original high school class of 32 students in 2005, to a projected 12,000 students statewide per year by 2025.

"Through our merger with College Possible, and now this renaming, we're poised to leverage our shared expertise and resources to build on the critical progress Texas has made toward boosting college access, completion and career readiness for underserved students," said Jesse Hendrix, executive director of College Possible Texas. "As part of the national organization, we can unlock the college-going aspirations of more students across Texas and ensure they have the support to achieve not just their educational goals, but long-term social and economic mobility."

In 2021, College Possible Texas, known as College Forward at the time, joined as the eighth College Possible regional site, alongside Chicago, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Omaha, Oregon, Philadelphia and Washington State.

Prior to the merger, the two organizations developed a close working relationship over the course of two decades, working in tandem to build an evidence-based curriculum and near-peer coaching model to help more aspiring college students access and succeed in college and in their careers. When College Forward developed the CoPilot student data information system in 2014, College Possible was its first customer.

Most recently, College Possible Texas announced a $6.5 million gift from Bloomberg Philanthropies to help double the number of students they serve in Texas. This statewide expansion, fueled by its merger with College Possible, aligns with the goal of serving the projected 12,000 students in Texas by 2025—extending the organization's reach and ability to serve colleges and education agencies throughout the state.

For more information about College Possible Texas, visit collegepossible.org/Texas.

About College Possible Texas: Since its founding in 2003, College Possible Texas (formerly College Forward) has empowered more than 16,800 students from under-represented communities on their path to earning a college degree. Its pioneering model matches eligible students with a near-peer coach and an evidence-based curriculum designed to help them overcome the most common barriers to getting into college and completing their degree – all at no cost to students or their families. Compared with their peers from similar backgrounds, College Possible students are 30% more likely to enroll in college the year after high school graduation, and three times more likely to earn a bachelor's degree. Headquartered in Saint Paul, MN, College Possible operates: regional sites in Austin, TX; Chicago, IL; Milwaukee, WI; Omaha, NE; Philadelphia, PA; Portland, OR; Saint Paul, MN; and Seattle, WA; as well as Catalyze partnerships in California, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas. Learn more about College Possible Texas at CollegePossible.org/Texas.